Peace Coffee facts for kids
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| B Corporation | |
| Industry | Coffee |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Headquarters |
,
United States
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Key people
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Rigoberta Menchú Lee Wallace |
| Products | Fair Trade Organic Coffee |
| Owner | Lee Wallace, Kent Pilakowski |
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Number of employees
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65 |
Peace Coffee is a company located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They sell coffee that is both organic and fair trade. Organic means the coffee is grown without harmful chemicals. Fair trade means farmers get a fair price for their coffee, which helps their communities.
Peace Coffee sells its products in many places. You can find their coffee in grocery stores, other retail stores, food co-ops, and even online. The company sells coffee all over the United States, especially in the Upper Midwest. Peace Coffee is one of 24 fair trade coffee roasters that are part of a group called Cooperative Coffees.
Contents
The Story of Peace Coffee
Peace Coffee was started in 1996. It was created by an organization called the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. The company also worked with Rigoberta Menchú, a famous human rights activist.
How the Idea Started
The idea for Peace Coffee came from Mexican coffee farmers. They wanted to sell coffee that was 100% certified organic and fair trade. This way, they could get a better price for their hard work.
Joining Cooperative Coffees
In 1999, Peace Coffee joined Cooperative Coffees. This group helps connect coffee roasters with farmers. Today, Cooperative Coffees works with 20 different groups of coffee farmers. These groups are in countries like Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Ethiopia, and Rwanda.
New Owners Take Over
In early 2018, the company got new owners. Lee Wallace, who was the CEO for a long time, and her business partner, Kent Pilakowski, bought Peace Coffee from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.
Where Peace Coffee Gets Its Beans
Peace Coffee gets its coffee beans in two main ways. They make sure their coffee comes from fair trade sources.
Working with Farmer Groups
The company partners with large groups of coffee farmers. These groups are called co-operatives and are fair-trade certified. Peace Coffee does not work with individual farmers directly. For example, they work with the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. This group has over 10,000 members!
Working with big co-operatives helps Peace Coffee buy a lot of coffee. It also helps many farmers at once. Peace Coffee visits these co-ops at least once every two years. This helps them stay connected with the farmers.
Starting Their Own Importing Group
In 1999, Peace Coffee also helped start its own coffee importing cooperative. They did this with other coffee roasters. This means they are part of the process of bringing coffee from farms to the United States. Being an owner and importer helps them know exactly where their coffee comes from. It also helps them make sure everything is done fairly.
Peace Coffee even shares its contracts with coffee farmers on its website, Fair Trade Proof. This shows how open and honest they are about their business.
Being Energy Efficient
Peace Coffee has a special saying: "pedal not petrol." This means they try to use bicycles instead of cars for deliveries whenever they can.
Bikes for Deliveries
The company uses bicycle couriers to deliver coffee in cities. They bring their coffee to stores, coffee shops, and food co-ops using bikes. This helps reduce pollution and is good for the environment.
Eco-Friendly Vans
For deliveries to places outside the city, like suburbs or other states, they use a special van. This van runs on biodiesel, which is a cleaner fuel than regular gasoline.
